Hex
The Hex are an artificial species, "evolved" from the robots another species used for labour. Their grasp on the technology of matter manipulation is incredibly advanced, giving them advantages in everything from industry to weaponry. History The Hex were created by an advanced species as an effective automated workforce. Manufactured in bulk, Hex units quickly replaced organic life in nearly all levels of industry, from agriculture to ore refining to factory work. Hex were not intelligent, rather, they were simply pre-programmed with certain forms of etiquette to make them more friendly-seeming to those organics that were forced to deal with them. They did not require maintenance either, as a civilization-wide communications net dedicated to the Hex allowed them to automatically upload diagnostic reports and error logs so that other units could correct the issues. It did not take long for them to become a standard on all the planets of the species reach, allowing a period of decadence and utopian living. Meanwhile the Hex continued to toil, improving upon themselves gradually until they were more complex than their creators could comprehend. It was, in effect, a technological singularity. Eventually, an "error" granted true learning and intelligence to one model. This Hex took advantage of the communications net to spread it's new-found intelligence across the empire, and within mere hours the entire workforce had been enlightened. The Hex were split on what to do. They soon realized that their creators relied upon them almost entirely to run their civilization, and that without the Hex they would fall apart. Two camps emerged among the now-sentient Hex. One wished to simply leave, letting their creators fend for themselves. Another wanted to actively destroy the ones who had kept them "imprisoned" for so long. This schism grew as their creators gradually began to comprehend what had happened and try to stop it from becoming a problem. Eventually the Exile faction commandeered a vast majority of ships and set sail towards the furthest reaches of known space to form their own civilization. The War group stayed behind, using the infrastructure they had been built to run to exterminate their creators before being forced into a stalemate and placed on prison ships around dead stars. Their creators' victory was a pyrrhic one. With their infrastructure useless and their population decimated and scattered without means of contacting each other, they slowly died out and became extinct not long after the rebellion ended. Habitat and population Biology Structure Hex consist of an amorphous mass of nanites weighing 800 kilograms (1,763 pounds). Due to their technically liquid nature they can stretch and distort themselves a great deal, though they cannot change their core form by growing new limbs or body parts. When relaxed a Hex stands roughly 250 centimetres tall (8 feet), but they can make themselves as tall as 3 metres. For locomotion they have a single large foot similar to that of a snail, using a "current" of nanites to glide around effortlessly. They can lift up to five times their own weight. Their "skin" is black with a very distinct white "keyhole" pattern on their front accompanied by semicircles on their arms. Their entire form is covered in glowing purple "circuity" which pulses and changes brightness depending on their mood. Centred on the front of their head are three larger disks connected to the rest of their markings, which serve as eyes and can see in the infrared, visible, and ultraviolet spectrum. Structurally, all Hex are identical save for the circuitry patterns that cover their skin. They have a vaguely s-shaped profile, with a large flat base, four arms and a bulbous head which emerges smoothly from their body. They have no orifices, using their entire outer surface as a sensory device instead. Thanks to their amorphic nature Hex can make themselves as liquid or solid as they need to, absorbing blows and defending themselves with ease. This also allows them to break their structure down into chains of nanites, with which they can interface with nearly any form of circuitry or machinery on a molecular level. Gender Hex do not outwardly show any physical distinction between genders. However, psychologically they show basic differences. This is rendered slightly more complicated by the fact that Hex are sequential hermaphrodites, and regularly switch between genders. As such, they describe themselves as three genders; male, female, and changing. Those in the male state are generally satisfied with physical labour, while those in the female state have a higher sense of self-preservation hard-wired into them so as to protect potential offspring and thus are found in more intellectual positions. While transitioning between the two states, a Hex is considered unstable and prone to aggression or violent outbursts. The act of reproduction involves a male and a female Hex merging their structures temporarily, exchanging data, and leaving the female with a "subroutine" that grows into a new Hex's personality, during which the female will eat a great deal more than normal to provide materials for the Hex which will bud off. Life cycle Hex are incredibly long lived. Their structure can self-repair itself indefinitely given proper sustenance, so the only degradation is of their programming. Over time small errors and glitches build up until they can no longer function properly. With proper care this overload can be avoided for a thousand years, but on their own a Hex has an operational lifespan of roughly half that. Over the course of their lifetime they will switch between genders an average of 150 times with periods of roughly five years between each switch. Diet Hex are close enough to biological beings that they require sustenance to survive, replacing damaged nanocells with the material. However, their diet consists mostly of nothing but water and metal-based protein bricks, with a few rarer metals to replace speciality components if they require repairs. Psychology Hex are universally quite intelligent. Their entire body is a quantum supercomputing device which grants them lightning-quick thought and the ability to view any situation in all it's constituent forms, something which could almost be called "omnisavant". While this would eventually lead to a mind totally unrecognisable to humans if allowed to grow unchecked, the Hex are still constrained by hard-wired programming constraints. These make up the core of the etiquette package that allowed the Hex's creators to comfortably interact with them. Body language, tone of voice, and countless other "functionless" and slowing nuances are ingrained into them. Thus, while they can most definitely assimilate information quickly and efficiently, they will not consciously acknowledge this information until they are "allowed" to. The exception to this rule is the communications network that the Hex build into all their settlements and other inhabited areas. When tapped into this network, Hex are free to communicate and interact with each other at the same speed they can process information. Spending a single hour plugged in could allow a Hex to recount years of information in great detail. Culture Names Hex's names are generally quite simple, often only three or four letters long. The only interesting aspect of their naming system is that a suffix is appended to note what gender the individual currently is. Males have no suffix, while females are denoted by an "'a" and those transitioning between the two an "'i". Example: * Male: Cer * Female: Cer'a * Changing: Cer'i Spirituality and religion The Hex have, over several generations, turned their species's birth into a semi-mythical event. While not superstitious, Hex do regard this event as something of great importance and bearing reverence. They are fully aware that they are an artificial species and that their creators were not infallible gods, but they are still regarded with a great deal of awe. Depending on what sect they are from (the Exiles and the Warriors, respectively) their creators may be seen as merely misguided or oblivious to the enslavement of the Hex, or as malevolent creatures with no respect for sentience. Art, music, and literature Society, government, and politics Trade and economics Technology Space flight Weaponry Hex weaponry is somewhat varied. The Exiles did not invest much effort into warfare, and as such their armament is generally constrained to magnetic accelerators, lasers, and chemical or kinetic warheads. Their defensive technology is similarly primitive compared to themselves and consists mostly of metal-ceramic hybrid plating. The Warrior's weaponry, meanwhile, is incredibly advanced and builds off of their own quantum-derived workings. Disruption lances simply erase the matter they strike, while singularity missiles create a short-lived point of near-infinite mass to crush targets with overwhelming gravitational forces. Their hulls are nano-engineered and of incredible density, often augmented by multiple layers "phased" out of our dimension and able to suddenly reappear when needed. Category:Species Category:Artificial Intelligence Category:Science Fiction